Bits and Pieces

As I sit here in Parsonage Cottage, I can see the trees in Owl Wood rocking and rolling as the full force of the storm hits them.  The wind is one thing but, even as I typed that sentence, the rain has arrived.   Not normal rain, monsoon-style rain.  I cannot even see the trees right now because there is so much coming down.   All I can say is thank goodness those trees are not in leaf or there would be tree casualties.



Millie, the little ginger cat, has leapt up onto the back of the sofa and is staring at the window in total bewilderment at the noise and the rain.    I am thankful that I managed to squeeze in a very short walk around the garden (so that Toby could 'stretch his legs') before this lot arrived.


The polytunnel has suffered a cut from falling debris, easily remedied with some tape.   The gate between the vegetable garden and Owl Wood has blown down, along with the fencing and the old church pew we had along there.

A lovely metal archway has blown down, but I am hopeful that the honeysuckle plant and the beautiful old clematis it supported can be saved.   The main bird table pole has snapped and fallen, the birds and squirrels were a bit miffed about that one, but right now they have a bigger problem to deal with, this torrential rain. 

That is the damage so far, along with lots of big fallen branches, of course, fuel for next year.

Ooops! spoke too soon.   The conservatory roof has developed a leak, or three.    Buckets and mops at the ready!   Never let it be said that I don't know how to have a good time.

Yesterday evening was also 'interesting'.     The log burner suddenly started puffing out smoke and fumes, then all the fire and fume/gas alarms started beeping and talking, adding to the drama and sense of emergency.


A back-draught had been created by the strength and direction of the wind.   We were being well and truly kippered.

Windows and doors were flung open, never mind that there was a gale howling around.     Ultimately the log burner had to be emptied of logs and hot ash...  Fun, fun, fun!

A new cowling must be bought to fix the problem, even though the original one has always coped admirably before.  No, the chimney doesn't need sweeping, it was done less than a month ago.

Back to the biscuits, TED's meeting tomorrow, my day to do the refreshments, so I made a batch of Lincoln biscuits from a recipe I found in a 1980 Lincoln Cathedral Cookery Book.     The biscuits are mild ginger, shouldn't be too much for anyone to cope with. 

I have also baked some tiny cheesy scones, for those who don't have a sweet tooth.

They are packed with flavour and are far too delicious.   I will be glad to get them out of the house.   They are such a temptation.   

I can 'hear' one of my old Domestic Science teachers, Miss M, from the Isle of Lewis, telling me off for using a fluted cutter for a savoury scone.   Ah, well!  Guilty as charged.

Tuesday was the day for the monthly visit by the mobile library.   They were ten minutes late, but as it was a dry day I didn't mind the wait.

I had a pile of pre-ordered books waiting for collection and I pulled a couple more from the shelves.   

It seems that the service is changing for this rural route.   No longer will a van trundle along to wait in the village for one and all.

Instead, there will be a transit van (the same one they currently use, but with only the driver) which will trundle along to park up by our house gate.   It will bring any books which I may have ordered, plus I get to have a quick browse.   It will stay for ten minutes, no longer.  If I am not at home then the books can be left in a box in the barn.

I have mixed feelings about it.   Yes, it will save me from having to lug my books all the way along the road into the village (no footpath, so muddy in the winter, but especially dangerous in the summer when drivers have the sun in their eyes) but it feels like a real diminution of the service, even though it will make things easier for me.

This is a photograph of Toby, Sparky and Millie.   I took it a few days ago when they were all on 'high alert' because a lion or, possibly, a tiger had attacked Millie in Owl Wood - which you can see just beyond the summerhouse roof.    It was one of those days when we had bright blue skies, lots of sunshine, and a heavy frost.     

Stay safe.   Enjoy what is left of your weekend.

E

The Dark End of the Year

The cats let me have a lie-in today, which simply mean that they didn't wake me until 5am. 

I stumbled through into the kitchen - fed the cats, let the dog out, put the kettle on, emptied the dishwasher, let the dog in, let the cats out, fed the dog, made a mug of strong coffee...and so on.

I was on my way back to make a second cup of coffee when I became aware of just how messy and gloomy the kitchen was looking.   Admittedly, it was pitch black outside, the curtains were all closed, and I didn't have many lights on, but even so. 

I immediately felt the need to clear the decks, put away the Christmas cloths, the decorations.   I wanted to transform my kitchen back into the light and airy room that I love so much.   Not quite spring cleaning fever, but almost as bad!

These are old photographs, you can tell that because the Rayburn was still in place, plus the photograph was taken in the daylight, which helps! 

I set to work, it wasn't possible to remove all signs of the season, but quite a lot of things have been returned to the loft.   I have my three youngest grandchildren coming to stay tomorrow, three little boys who love to 'investigate' things. 

Today has been spent roasting flesh (pig and chicken) baking bread and cakes, cleaning the house and making it safe, ready for the little ones.

Their visit will nicely fill the gap as we transition between the end of the old year and into the start of a fresh new one.         A big family gathering and another big meal tomorrow, plus a few smaller meals, then I can put my pinny away until next year.     

Thank goodness.

I took Toby out for a reasonable walk this morning, my bruised tailbone still won't permit me to do my usual route march!  We walked out past the watermill, up through Butterbump Splash, then cut across a field, jumped (well, Toby jumped, I splashed through, a small stream, clambered over a few stiles, walked by the side of the chalk stream and arrived at this bridge.     

Parsonage Cottage is located about 150 yards to the left of this bridge, in order to reach it we have to walk through up through the field, all the way up to the houses which  you can see in the distance, out through the field gates, then turn to our left and walk down the lane towards home.

The first house we pass is where my dear friend Oscar used to live, with his old horse, Benedict.  They have both gone now, but they are not forgotten, for they are firmly lodged in my heart and remembered often in our conversations.

Long ago, there was a slaughterhouse to the side, and part of the house became a butcher's shop, later it became a doctor's surgery, before reverting to a smallholding, when Oscar took it over.

The old ramshackle barn still remains, it is where this dear and handsome old boy dozed away his days.    When I took this photograph, I was unaware that the barn owl was in the barn, too.   Just as the camera shutter clicked, he flew out of the door, too fast for me to react to get a photograph, but slowly enough for it to be firmly stamped into my memory.   They were friends.  The owl would perch just a couple of feet above Benedict's head.

On down the lane, past another cottage, then the length of Owl Wood, and home. 

Darkness has crept in around the cottage again.    It is time to prepare supper - is there no end to this cooking nonsense?    Luckily, I made a pot of vegetable soup earlier!   

I will need to take a torch out with me when I walk Toby around Owl Wood, then I can get into a warm pair of pyjamas, make some hot chocolate, and continue reading one of my library books.

I hope you are set to have a pleasant evening, too.
x

After the Rayburn

All the dire warnings and predictions about how much we would miss the Rayburn have proved to be largely wrong, thank goodness.        I do miss it as a handy place to stand and warm my back, while waiting for the kettle to boil, but we are finding that the new double-ended wood burner is doing exactly what we hoped it would do.

As you can see from the photograph, a hole was knocked through a kitchen wall and into the sun room.     Dire warnings about how cold and draughty it would all become have proven to be unfounded, we have had some bitterly cold days/nights, wild, wet and windy days and the stove has kept us warm and snug.   It also makes the animals happy.    They have two firesides to choose from so they can be sociable, or not.

The piece of string isn't normally there but I am drying out some apple slices for a little project.  Similarly the brown paper bags are in the hearth because I have pomanders and orange peel drying out, as you do.

The blue saucepan contains spices and water, at this time of year I always used to have a pot of them quietly simmering on the Rayburn - they really scent the house beautifully.   The fan just wafts the heat around a little.

When it gets really cold the gas central heating gets flicked on, to heat the other areas of the house.  So far it all seems to be working as we hoped it would.     Needless to say, the cats enjoy being able to take a shortcut through the hole in the wall.

The log basket is one which I have had since the early 1980's and it is still going strong.    It is enormous, the pine cones are very large and not for burning, I just thought they added a bit of texture to the photograph.

As for the cooking side of things, well it all still looks pretty much as it did when the Rayburn was there.   I intend to change the tiles at the back of the cooker, but other than that everything remains pretty much the same. 


I enjoyed cooking on the Rayburn, particularly on the hotplate, but the oven was always a little unpredictable.  I am saying nothing about the mess and the soot, I have covered that in full, in far too many posts.


The new cooker is a real pleasure to use.     Quick to heat up, predictable and steady heat in the electric ovens, instant heat on the gas hob.   

I am happy.    The mess, hard work and expense was worth it.     (Thank you, Sue, you said it would be fine, and it is.)  Life has become a little easier.

The wind is still blowing hard, branches have been falling in Owl Wood.   I don't mind branches falling, much safer than falling trees.   There will be plenty of kindling waiting to be collected when the weather improves.

Little Things

Sometimes the smallest changes can make such a difference.   The kitchen at Parsonage Cottage pretty much remains the same and yet there have been many changes over the ten years we have been here.

First came the major renovations to turn this end of the building from a rat-infested old cart shed, which was packed to the rafters with the previous owners' possessions (including an urn full of their Grandpa's ashes) into a family kitchen.

I wanted a comfortable, homely room.  I don't like wall cupboards, so we don't have any.   I have the dressers and a very large walk-in pantry in the Boot Room.   It works for us, but everyone is different.

We used to have a large, squishy sofa in the room, which was nice, but Dobson (the dog) began to regard it as his own because no one really used it as we tend to gather at the kitchen table.     The table was orientated the other way to accommodate the sofa.

For the last 9 years I have been suggesting that the table should be turned.   Nine years of the broken record technique later.... I am happy to say that the table has been turned, the sofa loaned to Miles and Poppy (permanently, I hope) and the room is as I originally envisaged it.

Everyone likes it.  Life flows more easily around it.   Such a simple change.

There is one more simple change in the kitchen and that has made life much more comfortable for everyone.   Out here in the countryside we are greatly bothered by flies, great numbers of them, especially when the fly-screen doors are left open to lure them inside...dogs and grandchildren are the main culprits.

Fly papers help sort out the nuisance, but there were always a number of the pesky things whizzing around.   We had to find a solution.   Neither the grandchildren, nor the dogs, were going to change their ways.

Max came up with this solution.    A door closure device.    We thought about having one of those dangling chain door covers, but that would have meant the cats could come through with their half-dead victims, so that was out.   We've been there and it isn't nice.

This little device means that the screen door always closes.   The number of flies which come inside has fallen dramatically, the fly papers are almost redundant.   Life is becoming more pleasant.

I wish we could find a similar solution for the outdoor eating areas!

ps  I took the urn of 'Grandpa's ashes' to the vendors solicitor.  It felt a little strange having him on the passenger seat beside me.

Keeping Warm

Thermal vests at the ready - winter is about to begin!  

Max placed an order for some extra logs to top up the wood store.

Here's my old map of Parsonage Cottage and gardens.  (I drew it for Hector and Merry, a couple of years ago)     The bottom right corner is where the log store is located...very convenient for the wood we cull from Owl Wood, but as far away from the entrance to the gardens as it is possible to get (large X marks the spot)...Hmmmmn!

Oh, well, it provided us with an opportunity to work off some of those Christmas calories as we ferried almost 30 wheelbarrow loads from spot X to the log store.    We had to use that long route because the terracing and retaining walls to the front of the house make the shorter route an obstacle course, especially with wheelbarrows.

This is approximately one third of the load of logs.

Max got them sorted and stacked and they looked like this - trust me, if I had done it they would look a lot messier.   These logs are all ash, they will burn hotly whether seasoned or not.*

One project for the forthcoming year is to build an open-fronted garage and log store down in the front parking area.   It's about time we started making life a little easier as we enter our dotage.

The poly tunnel has a big stack of apple logs for the wood burner - they are far too special to put in the Rayburn.   The old woodcutter's poem says that apple logs scent the room and that really is the truth.   We also use them for the open fire in our master bedroom - a real winter treat on a cold and frosty night.



The Firewood Poem

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
*But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,
it is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold
But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,
Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom
Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold
But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by

Words by Lady Celia Congreve
courtesy of allpoetry.com

There are lots of poems like this - useful guides.

Young Hector came home from school, tucked into a big pasta meal, then settled down to watch a couple of episodes of his favourite programme while he waited for his mum and dad to come home.   I nipped outside to take these photographs of Parsonage Cottage at tea time...

...and here is the rarely seen far side.    It is a very long house, originally the cow shed/stables/cart shed for the Old Parsonage.     

The Master Bedroom at Parsonage Cottage

We don't normally burn candles in the hearth - I just wanted to show the effect of
dancing flames in the hearth.

Parsonage Cottage is the former stables, cow shed and cart shed for The Old Parsonage.   We had the opportunity to virtually do what we wanted with the interior, once we had finally got permission to update the place from the original 1970's conversion.

It was in poor condition, dead rats in the loft, damp... so we had it taken right back to just four walls, renewed the roof, then the work began.   We had to keep to the original window and door openings but other than that, it was down to us.      We opted to have a large master bedroom down at the north end of the house where the rooms get less light and warmth from the sun.   What was the former living room and dining room were incorporated to became one room.

This meant that we had the option of retaining the open fire - what a tough decision - of course we wanted to keep it.   What could be nicer on a cold winter's night than an open fire in the bedroom?   It's not the only heating, we also have two radiators.

It is a big room, deliberately so.   Lots of bookshelves, a sofa which originally belonged to us, we gave it to our daughter who eventually replaced it with something more modern and so it finally came back across the garden to us.  

My 'dressing-table' is a very old desk which was being thrown out by a GP friend, about 25 years ago,  it had belonged to his father.   Another nice bit of recycling.

An old armchair and large chest of drawers in another corner of the room.    It is all a mish-mash, old family stuff and recycled furniture.    The 'look' I was trying to achieve was something akin to a 'Gentleman's Club', a place of peace and quiet, a sanctuary.

It's not quite as gloomy as it looks in the photographs, someone has been messing about with my camera (Max) and I need to find up the handbook and re-set everything as all my photographs look rather dismal at the moment.   The room has a large by window and two regular ones, the ceiling is about ten foot high.

On a cold wintery evening we love to simply sit and watch the flickering flames as we sip our mugs of cocoa!   Who says romance is dead!

One piece of furniture which is about to have a new lease of life is this old cupboard, it houses all manner of things, including the printer, satellite box and so on.

We picked it up at an antiques centre for about £20.   It is functional, but dull.    I intend to paint it, I may even do some trompe l'oiel on it, the jury is out, I'm still thinking about it.   It will certainly be changing in the next few months.  

I am making a quilt for the bed from vintage Japanese kimono silk, the colours  are jewel-like and shine brightly in this slightly dark room.   Vintage, recycled, slowly evolving over time.

The Stone Tape and Reclaimed Bricks

Little Bunting is a very small village, so small happenings seem much larger than they are.  

Take these beautiful, higgledy-piggledy buildings..

Over the last decade, or so, I have watched as this range of old buildings have slipped from charming decay into down-right dangerous.     I have often been surprised to see that they have weathered the fierce gales and torrential rains of a storm.

Despite their charming appearance, these old buildings were the slaughterhouse and butchery for this end of the village.    Old Oscar has shown me inside - the hooks, pulleys, etc.   It made me feel ill and very glad that I am vegetarian.    

They are now deemed to be very unsafe and are being carefully demolished.    The village road runs directly behind them, so we don't want any accidents with falling masonry, tiles, and the like.

I spend half an hour down there every day, as I keep old Benedict the horse company, check on his water, feed him, and so on.   His paddocks are just across the yard, his view of the road will soon improve.    

He doesn't have any field companions and old Oscar is finding it more difficult to get around these days, so Benedict gets very lonely, to say the least.

So, while I have been spending so much time down there I got thinking about the bricks, tiles, etc from this demolition job.   As you can see, they are being carefully stacked on pallets, ready to go to the reclamation yard.      This set me thinking.



Way back in the 1970's  there was a rather spooky BBC play called 'The Stone Tape'.      (A note for my family, there is a copy on one of the dressing-room shelves.)    The programme put forth the idea that ghosts could be energy which has been absorbed, at times of high tension, into inanimate materials, like stone.    It is possible that this energy, or recording, can be subsequently released, hence the visuals, the sounds, etc. of ghosts.

So, I fell to wondering about these bricks.. any energy they have stored would be truly nightmarish.  

Max has plans to build a large porch onto Parsonage Cottage, these bricks are the same colour, shape and size as those used to  build our home, all those years back when it was the Stables and Cow Shed for the big Farmhouse.

Our home is a place of peace, I never feel the need to put a light on during my midnight ramblings, well, not until I go into the Boot Room, for there always seems to be a pesky slug somewhere or other in there, no matter what we do.     I think that much of that wonderfully peaceful atmosphere comes from the century and a half when the animals were housed in here.

No way am I going to risk adding old slaughterhouse bricks into that happy home, after all, if The Stone Tape theory is even partly correct, surely the same thing could happen with bricks?

We'll use new bricks for the porch, just in case.   ;-)